


are you mine?

by PitchonthePitch



Series: AUgust Soulmate AU's [6]
Category: BoJack Horseman
Genre: Abuse of Authority, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dark, Dubious Ethics, F/M, Fear, Gaslighting, Immorality, Law School, Past Rape/Non-con, Rape/Non-con Elements, Self-Harm, Slut Shaming, Suicide Attempt, Threats, Underage Rape/Non-con, Victim Blaming, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-10 21:36:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20142364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PitchonthePitch/pseuds/PitchonthePitch
Summary: Emotion - You can feel what your soulmate is feeling (and vice versa).In a world where you can feel your soulmate's emotions, how do you define consent?  More importantly, how does the law define it?  When Gina Cazador accuses her soulmate of sexual assault, some harsh truths are brought to light about the nature of the law and the nature of sexual assault.





	are you mine?

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclosure: I'm an undergrad majoring in criminology, not a full-fledged law student. This fic probably isn't super accurate about the judicial processes involved in the law. It's based more on How to Get Away with Murder than it is on real life court systems. Suspension of disbelief is very important here.

Princess Carolyn handed everyone a copy of the file for their next case. “We are defending Bojack Horseman. His soulmate, Gina Cazador, has accused him of sexual assault.”

“Bojack Horseman?” Penny repeated. “Former TV star Bojack Horseman?” She was frowning.

“Yes,” Carolyn said. “I’m guessing you’re not a fan?”

Penny didn’t answer; she silently studied her case file. 

Todd was looking at Carolyn with a furrowed brow. “You can sexually assault your soulmate?”

“That question, my dear student, is what we are going to work to refute today.” Princess Carolyn handed the last copies to Emily and Diane, her teaching assistant. “I want you to look over these case files and each come up with a defense we can use for our client.”

They started with Emily’s defense. “What is a soulmate?” she asked. “A soulmate is a person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner. Does that sound like a rapist to you? If Bojack and Gina are soulmates, as we know them to be, then Bojack, by definition, cares too much about Gina to assault her.”

“So, Bojack cares too much about Gina to assault her, but Gina’s perfectly willing to lie about a serious allegation against him?” Diane was frowning. “I don’t think a jury’s going to buy that defense. Someone here is guilty: either he assaulted her, or she falsely accused him. The only thing we know for certain from this case is that soulmates are, in fact, capable of doing harm to each other." 

“I agree,” Carolyn said. “Todd, what did you come up with?”

Todd cleared his throat. Carolyn frowned: Todd was never shy about speaking out in class, even when his ideas were out there and sometimes, well, downright ridiculous. “Consent between soulmates is a matter that I’ve given a lot of thought, even before today. Here’s my question: is Bojack even capable of violating his soulmate without feeling violated himself?”

“What do you mean?” Carolyn asked.

“Well, as soulmates, their emotions are tied together. He feels everything Gina feels, and vice versa. If the experience between Gina and Bojack was traumatic for her, then logic follows that it must have been traumatic for Bojack, as well, because he feels everything she does. Why would Bojack commit this crime against his soulmate, knowing he would feel all the same things she felt?”

“So,” Carolyn said, “you’re arguing that nobody would commit sexual assault against their soulmate, because the preparator would feel the traumatic effects of the assault just as much as the victim.”

“Exactly.”

Emily beamed at her boyfriend, proud of his explanation. She reached across the couch and squeezed his hand.

“I don’t know,” Diane said. “There are a lot of reasons why Bojack might still commit this kind of crime. The rape could’ve been a form of self-harm for him.”

“Self-harm?” Todd repeated.

“Wouldn’t be the first time. He’s had multiple accounts of past injuries and even suicide attempts. Plus,” she added, “sexual assault is _usually_ met with some sort of backlash from the victim, soulmate or not. Rapists aren’t generally afraid of getting their hands dirty, and they’re not afraid of getting hurt.” Diane adjusted her glasses, a nervous habit. “The rape is meant to assert dominance over the victim. As long as the rapist can maintain the ‘upper hand,’ so to speak, most are willing to undergo some degree of physical harm or discomfort, themselves, for the purpose of completing the rape." 

“Diane raises some good points,” Carolyn said. “Bojack has his own rap sheet full of past offenses, some minor and some more serious in nature. I think our best bet is to stop pointing attention at him and start pointing attention at Gina.” Carolyn laid her elbows on the table and waved her hands at her students for emphasis, much like she did in lecture. “What was she feeling during the encounter? Were her emotions perhaps sending mixed signals to her soulmate? What was their past sexual history like? What was she wearing at the time of the encounter?” 

“So,” Todd said, “you want to slut shame her in front of the court.”

“I want us to defend our client to the best of our ability. You think Gina’s team isn’t going to shame Bojack? You think they’re not going to pull out his rap sheet and list all of his past indiscretions to make him look like a criminal?”

“But he_ is_ a criminal,” Todd argued. “All the information you’re asking about is completely subjective. I mean, what was she wearing at the time? That question is just, textbook victim blaming.”

“To a jury, it’s relevant.” Carolyn turned to her last student, hoping she'd prove more useful than the other two. “Penny, what defenses have you come up with?” The girl had been awfully quiet during this whole discussion. Usually, Penny was energetic and eager to participate in their case discussions.

Now, she looked sullen and miserable. “I think we’re looking at this case the wrong way,” she said.

The girl was speaking so quietly, Carolyn could barely hear her. She leaned across the table toward her student. “What do you mean?”

“We keep talking about Bojack and Gina like their relationship as soulmates supersedes their relationship as victim and assaultor.”

Carolyn interrupted. “Their _alleged_ relationship as victim and assaultor.”

“Right. The point is…, if Bojack assaulted Gina, I don’t think he did so because she was his soulmate.”

“You sound pretty certain,” Carolyn said, with a note of dubiousness in her own voice.

“I am.” Penny took a breath. “Because Gina Cazador isn’t the first person Bojack Horseman has assaulted.” Penny went on to tell them all the story of how Bojack had assaulted her when she was seventeen. “He didn’t assault Gina because she’s his soulmate. He assaulted her because he’s a--” She struggled to get the word out. “--a rapist.”

_“Alleged_ rapist,” Carolyn said. “Penny, did you ever report Bojack’s behavior to the authorities?”

Penny hung her head. “No,” she said, “I was a kid. I just wanted to forget what happened and get a fresh start at college. He’s a really famous actor; if people ever found out…” She sighed. “No one’s ever going to leave Gina alone after this trial. Her name will be attached to his forever.”

Carolyn pulled Penny aside at the end of the day. “I’m taking you off this case,” she told her.

“What?” Penny said. “You can’t. This case is too important to me--”

“Exactly. You’re too close to our client, and I can’t risk you ruining his chances because of the history between you two.”

Penny was shaking. “I can still volunteer in the trial as a character witness. I can tell the jury what Bojack did to me.”

“You could,” Carolyn said, “but I wouldn’t recommend you go that route. Law school must keep you busy enough, without volunteering to speak in a trial against Bojack Horseman. And, as your boss and your professor -- you know, the person who writes your paychecks and letters of recommendation -- I would strongly advise doing anything to sabotage my cases.” She slung her purse around her shoulder and headed out the door. “See you in class, Miss Carson.”

Penny didn’t volunteer to speak as a character witness in the trial. But she did go to the hearing to find out if Bojack would be tried or not. She took a seat all the way in the back, hoping that neither Bojack or her professor would see her.

For the crime of sexual assault, the defendants found Bojack Horseman not guilty.

Across the room, Penny could hear a woman crying. Gina. At the front of the room, she could see Bojack and her professor hugging each other. She was so shocked by the sight, she didn’t even notice that Diane had sat next to her until she spoke. “She and Bojack are old friends. Their personal history is the reason Carolyn agreed to take his case in the first place.”

Penny felt sick. “They’re friends?” she echoed.

“Everyone has an agenda,” Diane said. “Do you think Carolyn’s happy she’s helped set a precedent in which your soulmate is legally within his rights to assault you? No, but she decided winning this case was more important than protecting people like Gina.” Diane paused, letting those words sink in. “You also made a decision,” she told Penny. “You could have spoken out about Bojack, but you decided your reputation and your success at this school was more important than getting justice for Gina. The law isn’t always just -- because the law is made by people, and people aren’t always just.”

Penny stared at her, processing all that information. “You’re blaming me for Bojack getting off.”

“No,” Diane said. She was looking at Penny with what appeared to be sympathy. “I’m just trying to show you the way the world works, so you can better understand the way the law works.” She paused, as if debating whether or not to say what was on her mind. Finally, she decided to say it. “Bojack and I were also friends once -- until the day I told him we weren’t anymore. He could be… rather intense.”

Penny looked at her, scrutinizing the expression on her face. Diane almost looked afraid to talk about Bojack in the crowded courtroom. “Did he--?”

“No,” Diane said, too quickly, Penny thought. “But… I believe you, Penny. And I could’ve done more to help you, when you told us all what happened between you and Bojack.”

“But you didn’t,” Penny added up, “because then your job with Princess Carolyn would’ve been in jeopardy.”

“Everyone has an agenda,” Diane said.

Bojack was heading down the aisle, Carolyn beside him. Penny had to get out of there. She hurried out of the courtroom before either of them could see her.

She ran into a restroom. She was going to be sick.

When she finished dry heaving into a toilet, she was about to step out of the stall when she heard loud shuffling as two people entered the restroom.

She recognized Emily’s voice. “C’mon, Todd, we gotta celebrate. We just won our case.”

“I guess…” Todd said. “Don’t you feel bad? I mean, after everything Penny said about him--”

“Forget about Penny. There’s a reason Carolyn took her off the case: she was emotionally-compromised. She probably had a crush on Bojack when she was seventeen and never got over it.”

They were in the stall next to hers now. “You think she was lying?” Todd said.

Emily sounded annoyed. “I _think,”_ she said, “you need to be wearing less clothes right now.”

“Emily, no. I don’t want to do this shit right now.”

“I think you do,” Emily said. “We’re soulmates, remember? I can feel what you’re feeling. And I know you feel exactly what I’m feeling right now, Todd.”

“I feel _some_ of what you’re feeling,” Todd said, “like, I feel love for you. And I feel how much _you_ want to hook up. But I -- I don’t feel the same way right now. Or ever, if I’m being honest.”

“You do." Emily's voice was soft and warm and left no room for argument. "Here, I can show you.”

Penny couldn’t listen anymore. She ran out of the bathroom so fast, she slammed straight into somebody in the hallway.

Bojack Horseman. He looked down on her with a little smile. Carolyn was still beside him. “Penny?” he said. “Penny Carson? I haven’t seen you in years!”

“Penny is a student of mine,” Carolyn said.

“Good for you,” Bojack said. “Maybe someday you’ll be as good a lawyer as Princess Carolyn here.”

“Bojack, you flatter the girl.”

Bojack was still looking at Penny. “You’re so grown up. We should get together sometime. You know, now that I’m a free man.”

Penny wanted to say no. But then she looked at Carolyn, and the woman gave her a look right back.

Diane’s words echoed in her head. _‘You could have spoken out about Bojack, but you decided your reputation and your success at this school was more important than getting justice for Gina.’_

“Yeah,” she said. She had a bad taste in her mouth, probably from all the dry heaving. “Maybe.”

“Great,” Bojack said. “I’ll give you a call.” He and Princess Carolyn went on their way. As they left, Princess Carolyn looked back and beamed at her.

**Author's Note:**

> I never thought I would be writing a dark fanfic about Bojack Horseman. I really didn't.


End file.
